Every year millions of people, companies, and other institutions file various documents with the different governing bodies, such as agencies and services of local, state and national governments. The documents typically are directed toward such things as filing taxes, inventory, and accounting filings, medical reimbursement filings, and the like. Each document typically has multiple data-containing fields into which a user is required to enter data.
Generally, the data-containing fields in each of the documents are completed with data representing a concatenation of various pieces of information. For example, in an accounting sheet, the data representing the amount of sales may include several pieces of information (e.g., the amount of sales completed (payment received and product shipped), the amount of sales ordered (payment received and product not yet shipped), amount of sales received under contract (payment not received and product not yet shipped), etc.).
The parameters that define which pieces of information to include in the data are typically governed by one or more regulations. For example, a regulation may specify that sales received under a contract without a received payment or a shipped product is not included on the accounting sheet.
While the documents are being filed with the different governing bodies, the different governing bodies constantly pass new regulations concerning the data entered in the documents. Specifically, the parameters for entering the data may change. For example, a person who marries within a tax year may or may not file a joint tax return with his/her spouse. As another example, a recent regulation passed now allows a taxpayer to claim both state and local tax deductions for sales or income tax. In addition, the regulation specifies that tax for motor vehicles may be added to the deduction, but only at a general sales tax rate. In order to comply with the regulations passed by all of the governing bodies, the person entering the data must be aware of new regulations.
To file the various documents and ensure that the data entered into the documents is accurate and complies with standard regulations, software products that are directed toward filing the document may be used by people, companies, and institutions. Typically, software products include several methods for simplifying inputting the data into the documents. For example, a software product may separate the documents into forms, request data using user-friendly questions, and perform automatic calculations of different fields within the forms. By providing an easy-to-use user interface, a person is able to navigate the complex documents and ensure compliance with regulations.
Often times, the software products that aid in filing the document provide support services for assistance in completing the document. For example, contact information, such as e-mail addresses, telephone numbers, etc., for support agents that are available to assist a user may be provided on the document. Users can typically receive immediate support services via telephone, or if the user is willing to wait for a response, the user can send an e-mail about any questions associated with completing the document. Some software products provide live assistance via a chat window or web page while the user is completing the document. To access this type of assistance, the user has to open the online financial document and launch the chat window or web page in a separate window, thus requiring the user to tile windows or navigate between the online document and the support window.